


Do You Even Still Love Me?

by Emily_F6



Series: Peter Parker Prompts [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Irondad, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, bio dad tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25757455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emily_F6/pseuds/Emily_F6
Summary: Peter returns from the snap only to find that his father moved on with his life.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Peter Parker Prompts [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1866505
Comments: 2
Kudos: 204





	Do You Even Still Love Me?

**Prompt: Do you even still love me?**

“Do you even still love me?” The words were out of Peter’s mouth before he even had a chance to think about them, and he wanted to take them back. Put them back in his mouth. Swallow them and choke on them…anything to get him out of this conversation. Idiot, he called himself. Stupid, idiot, baby. What the hell was his problem?

His dad stared at him, wide-eyed. Horrified. And Peter hated himself. His dad had risked everything to get him back…had somehow invented time travel, according to Scott, and he’d lost most of his arm and…and he’d risked losing Morgan and Pepper and…

His father had had another kid while he’d been gone. 

It had all started when he’d been introduced to the little girl, and he really liked her. Really. He liked her a lot. She was cute and sweet and she called him her big brother and he’d hugged her and then…then he’d watched his dad pick her up and something in him had twisted. Painful and heavy and his eyes had started to fill…and then…he’d just needed a minute.

That had happened quite a few times since that final battle had finally been over…since he’d woken up on Titan with Dr. Strange and then he’d been by the compound, which had been totally destroyed and then…then there had been a battle with Thanos and that beautiful glowing lady had grabbed the gauntlet from him, smiling and snapping her fingers before anyone else noticed that she had it…and then he’d been in his father’s arms again.

Then he’d found out about Morgan.

Morgan Stark. He couldn’t help but notice how his dad looked at her and Pepper…how he’d held her in his arms and kissed her when he’d first seen her. How she’d thrown her arms around his neck and how he’d called her ‘little miss’ and ‘Morguna’ and told her that he loved her 3000 and….they had inside things he didn’t understand. His dad had a whole new family. He’d moved on. 

His dad had come out to find him when he’d disappeared from the cook-out, promising a persistent Morgan that he’d read her a bedtime story later…a promise he wasn’t sure if he could keep since it was getting dark. Every Friday since his father had come home from the hospital (so…like, for 3 Fridays) they had cooked out on the grill. Not that his father had never grilled out before. But he hadn’t really…they’d lived in the city and they’d eaten Chinese take-out and watched movies and now…now his dad spent his early evenings putting Morgan to bed and…and he’d tried. Peter knew as he curled up on the dock beside the lake, that his dad was trying. After putting Morgan to bed, he’d always offer to watch movies or work downstairs in the lab or even just hang out…and Peter shut him down every time. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Morgan. Really…what kind of monster would that make him? He just…couldn’t stand to look at her. Or talk to her. Or watch his dad look at her or talk to her. He knew that Pepper had caught on. Sometimes when she passed, she would place a hand on his shoulder or drop a kiss on his temple. But it didn’t make it hurt any less.

They’d moved on without him. They’d had a whole new family and they’d bought a lakehouse and they were happy. And he hadn’t wanted them to stop living…but…but a part of him had. 

And then his dad had found him, and he’d asked that idiotic question. His dad stared down at him in the fading light, slowly moving to sit at his side, and Peter felt the tears pouring down his cheeks. Everything he’d been shoving back for weeks suddenly burst out, and he dropped his forehead onto his knees. Then his dad was pulling him into his arms, holding him tight as he sobbed. “You…you had another kid…and you moved…” Peter choked out, feeling guilty for the words but unable to stop him. “You…you got married and moved and you don’t even live in New York City anymore and I’m supposed to be Spider-Man but I can’t from out here…and…and you have another kid and you forgot me.” 

“No.” His father stopped him, gripping Peter tightly. “No, baby…no. I never…” He started, then pulled away, cupping his face in his hands. “Never. I could never forget you. Not ever. I thought about you every single day, Peter. I…I had to get you back.”

“You had another kid,” he whispered. And he hated himself. He absolutely loathed himself for his words and his accusation and he knew that it made him a monster. But he didn’t want a little sister…not one that had just shown up out of nowhere and who his dad loved so much when his father was supposed to love him!

“Yeah. I did.” His father matched his tone, wiping a tear from under his eye with his thumb, the gesture just making more tears fall. “I…I got married. And I moved out of the city. And I…Pep and I had another kid. Because I had no idea…I thought I’d lost you, Pete. I thought…everyone was gone. I mourned you, every single day. Always. I built a bedroom in my lake house for my dead son and refused to let anyone touch a single thing inside. Pep thought I’d lost it. I obsessed over ways to get you back. It consumed every part of my life…but I couldn’t figure it out. And then…I tried to move on. I tried to remember you and still live my life. And it seemed like it was working. But…it was either that or die with you.”

Peter swallowed hard, dropping his eyes, and his dad wiped away another tear.

“And then, Scott Lang and his merry gang showed up and suggested time travel.” He snorted. “Time travel, Pete. Like I hadn’t already thought of that. But…I took one look at your picture that night and I knew that I had to try again. Because if there was a chance…any chance that I could get my son back, I had to take it. And I did. I got you back. And I know that it’s strange. And hard. And I know that you just woke up and suddenly I had another kid, but you have to know that I would have given anything to get you back. You’re my son. My baby. And I love you so much.” 

Peter closed his eyes, nodding and resting his head on his dad’s shoulder. “I love you too, dad.”

“We’re going to figure this out, buddy. I promise. If that means moving back to the city, then we’ll do it. If it means therapy or talking to someone or…whatever. I don’t care. There’s nothing I won’t do for my kids, Pete. Both of them.”

Peter nodded again, just resting in his dad’s arms as the man held him, and it felt just like when he was a kid…just like how his dad had always held him. He was safe there, in his dad’s arms. Always.

A few minutes passed and he wiped his eyes, feeling his cheeks heat up. He hadn’t meant to meltdown like a little kid, but his dad only ran a hand through his hair, smiling at him like he couldn’t quite believe that he’d gotten him back. “I missed you so much, Pete. So much.”

“I…well, I didn’t really miss you because it only felt like five minutes but…” His dad chuckled, ruffling his hair with his good arm. “Sorry…” He murmured, not really apologizing for the joke. His father shook his head.

“You don’t ever have to apologize for how you feel, bud. If you need me, I’m here.” 

Peter glanced over at the lake and the sun that was quickly disappearing, then smiled, something in his heart loosening. “We’d better head back.”

“You sure? Pep can put Morgan to bed tonight if you want to talk some more.”

Peter shook his head, still smiling. “I promised her I’d read her a bedtime story tonight. But maybe after?”

His dad gripped his hand, then leaned in, pulling him into his arms and kissing the side of his head. “Of course, buddy. Sounds great. We can order Chinese and work in the lab?”

“We just ate.”

“Please. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your bottomless appetite.” 


End file.
